In Conversation with SomVita Suites: Reconstruction, Marketing and Success

The SomVita Suites in Dorf Tirol, Italy, have been delighting guests since they were founded in 1963 as the "Hotel Garni Somvi" with their breathtaking view overlooking Merano and environ, their comprehensive service and the always relaxed atmosphere in the hotel. Between 2022 and 2023, the hotel was extensively renovated within a short period of time and then reopened as "SomVita Suites".

Alexander Somvi is the host at the SomVita Suites and is now the third generation to run the family business. With the recently completed renovation, a new and innovative concept was created. It was clear to him that he wanted to build on the work of his parents and grandparents and further develop the Garni Somvi in this spirit. Thus, the family name "Somvi" embodies the family aspect in the new name "SomVita", while "Vita" stands for the new concept.

There are four pillars on which the innovative and modern hotel concept is built: SomVino - the restaurant, SomVibes - the atmosphere and regular events, SomView - the location and unique panorama and SomVital - health.

Alexander Somvi and Daniela Hofer, responsible for marketing at the hotel, talk to ADDITIVE about the challenges that came with the renovation in online marketing. In this interview, you can read how ADDITIVE supported SomVita Suites in:

Alexander Somvi: Originally, we were a small three-star B&B hotel with three part-time employees, so a very manageable structure. Then it was my wish to further develop the family business that my parents and my grandparents had built up and take it to a new level. The hotel was completely renovated or rebuilt in five months last winter. We decided to convert the three-star hotel into a four-star superior hotel with almost 40 full-time employees. Of course, that was a big step for us.

Our vision for SomVita Suites is to create a place where sociability, luxury, and freedom come together. The new concept is based on the idea of "you can do it all - or nothing at all". This means that we offer our guests a lot of flexibility and freedom on vacation, especially in terms of culinary delights. That is why we are not a classic half-board establishment, but have our à la carte restaurant SomVino, which is accessible to locals and guests alike.


Alexander: The highlights include two large spa areas, the Garden Spa and the Sky Spa with two pools, sauna and relaxation area, several large terraces with magnificent views over the Merano region and the Vinschgau Valley, above all, of course, our 30 new suites, which are very tastefully and modernly furnished, and, last but not least, the SomVino restaurant, where - as already mentioned - not only our guests but also locals meet.

Alexander: The reconstruction naturally presented us with major marketing challenges. And, to be honest with you, the size of the project was daunting.

The reconstruction of SomVita Suites took only five months, which is, of course, a very, very short amount of time for a hotel of this size. During the renovation, the priorities were on the construction site and I was really on site every day. Marketing initially took a backseat.

The strategic marketing concept had already been finalized before the renovation, and so we were actually able to start the renovation with a fully-fledged concept. However, operational marketing in particular was difficult for us to implement at first. With our new concept, we are targeting a new audience and from now on we also have to implement a new price. Therefore, it was all the more important for us to address new guests with the new SomVita Suites. Due to the new size of the hotel, we also had to appeal to a significantly larger number of guests overall.

Although we had great renderings of the rooms, it was still difficult to market the new building at the beginning, as there was simply no trust on the market and no references. However, it's crucial not to lose sight of marketing and, above all, to start operational marketing early enough.

Of course, one of the things that must always be taken into account in any renovation is the issue of regular guests: of course, we lost many of our regular guests. A few have stayed with us, which we are very happy about - but I think this development is quite normal with such a change.

To sum up, the renovation has given marketing a whole new level of importance in our hotel. Hotel construction and marketing have to be one, must go hand in hand, because of course the finished hotel is of no use on its own. The rooms have to be sold. And in the beginning this is a big challenge and very difficult - but we have now found a partner in ADDITIVE with whom we are really satisfied.




Alexander: As a three-star hotel, we didn't have any online marketing at all and weren't dependent on it. We had many regular guests and things were going relatively well. However, we knew that with such a major reconstruction and the new scale, focussing on digital marketing is absolutely essential.

Before the opening, we started out with a general pre-opening campaign. That was actually really helpful in terms of building some initial visibility for the hotel. From there, though, we wanted to establish a new approach to marketing for the long term. It was important for us to make our online marketing completely data-based.

To this end, we then brought ADDITIVE on our side as a partner. Success after reopening only comes when marketing is prioritized. This has been proven through our collaboration.

Daniela Hofer: On the one hand, we had a clear need to attract new guests in a targeted way in order to reach a high occupancy rate in the long term. On the other hand, we saw the need to improve the quality of our guest database and, above all, our address books and to fill them with contacts from our new target group. This in turn forms the basis for further marketing. And for this, lead generation is the key pillar of our marketing strategy.


Daniela: With lead generation, our goal is to reach new guests. We aim to collect the contact details, such as the e-mail address, of those people who have shown interest in our hotel.

Lead generation has several advantages for us as a hotel: Firstly, the possibility to make direct contact in order to convince interested parties and turn them into our guests. Secondly, further contact is automatically established through introductory e-mails - meaning no work for us. And thirdly, the fact that no further advertising budget is needed is a big advantage.


Daniela: To implement lead generation, we use ADDITIVE+ MARKETING AUTOMATION. The software enables us to collect new guest contacts and automatically send the right messages to the right guests. As a result, we are actively working to continuously attract new guests.

Specifically, as part of our lead generation, we use so-called lead ads, conversion-optimized landing pages and pop-ups on the website to collect contact data. We offer our guests small incentive vouchers as an incentive for completing the contact forms.

As soon as the first stay is booked, the voucher can be redeemed on site. The processing of contact information, communication with potential guests, and even voucher distribution are handled automatically in the background by ADDITIVE's software.

Daniela: For us, lead generation is just one part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy with ADDITIVE. In addition to that, we also focus on search engine marketing, social media and newsletter marketing. What we particularly like is the innovative approach of combining classic online marketing with software.

Our online marketing system essentially works like a gear mechanism. The individual cogs mesh together - in this case, guest data and marketing measures - and that is how we are able to get the most out of our marketing and know exactly what the results are. For us, it's crucial to focus on the key metrics that truly matter for the hotel - not just general KPIs. Reach, clicks, or other metrics are secondary.




Daniela: We have been working with ADDITIVE for just over a year now and the measures have shown their effect very quickly. Even in this short time, we have seen a noticeable difference.

So far, we have reached over 3,500 leads for potential guests. We have also received over 2,500 inquiries, and around 400 reservations have already been made, with about 90% coming from new guests. Our ADDITIVE+ ROI consistently exceeds 1,000% per month. This means that for every €1 we invest, we are currently generating at least €10 in added value.


Alexander: The collaboration gives us a very, very good feeling overall. We have the knowledge and certainty that the right guests are coming into the house and that our marketing budget is well invested, which is simply very important these days. We always have the feeling that a lot is happening at ADDITIVE in terms of online marketing. There is a lot of communication and we always receive the latest information.

Of course, we had very, very high expectations of marketing with the reconstruction. You also worry and think about how you will start after the conversion, whether the direction is right and you hope to reach a certain occupancy level. We are all the more pleased that, with the help of ADDITIVE, we were able to make such a great start after the reconstruction. We achieved a very good occupancy rate in the first year and ADDITIVE definitely met our expectations. We feel that we are in good hands.

Daniela: The collaboration is very straightforward and pleasant for us. We really appreciate the fact that we always have a contact partner with an open ear. And what we value above all is the transparency. This is exactly how we imagine a partnership on an equal footing and a successful collaboration!